Of Dances and Budding Friendships
by daily-chan
Summary: As the Yule Ball approaches and comes, Lily gets to know the Marauders a little better. Part of the A Bond of Family series. Rating is just for safety.
1. Chapter 1

_Of Dances and Budding Friendships._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. However, since Rowling discarded my favourite characters I picked them up and took them into my care to give them the love and attention they deserve...and occasionally give them reason to need that love and attention no matter how much they deserve it without needing a reason._

 _Summary: As the Yule Ball approaches and comes, Lily gets to know the Marauders a little better._

 _Warnings:_ _Strong bromance, can't stomach boys being extremely close without it being sexual, then this is not the story for you and you should hit the return button._

 _ **Special thanks to Kitty for beta-ing this story for me and giving me endless support and inspiration for this series. Thank you for your endless patience with my grammar and for all the lessons you've taught me and are still trying to stamp into my brain.**_

This story is part of a series called A Bond of Family. If you are interested in reading the entire series, then the chronological order can be found on my profile.

 _I am aware that unless there is a Triwizard Tournament, there is not actually a Yule ball at Hogwarts every year. But these teens deserve something good in a time of war and uncertainty so I gave them a Yule ball._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was a cold Tuesday afternoon that Lily made her way into the Library, not entirely willing to believe she was actually looking for her male classmates.

But she had gotten on with them much better since meeting Sirius Black in the Common Room a few days earlier and desperate times asked for desperate actions and thus she was on her way to the library.

It surprised most people how much time the two troublemakers spent in there, but Lily knew that despite their brilliance, they were always researching things for undisclosed reasons so the library was the best bet to find them after classes.

And she was right as she immediately spotted the two dark-haired pranksters sitting at a table and waving her friends off as they waved at her; she made her way to them.

"Are the two of you doing Lupin's homework?" she forgot her manners as her eye fell on the name on the parchment Potter was writing on in his untidy scrawl.

"What?" Potter looked up startled and Lily was almost impressed by how smoothly he tossed the book he'd been looking in onto the parchment and would have been fooled by it if she hadn't seen him jump.

"No, whatever gave you that idea? Your mind must be playing tricks on you," Sirius however, seemed unfazed to see her as he never stopped writing.

"I'm sure it is. You misspelled continuously, Sirius," she pointed out.

"I know, thanks," Sirius nodded distractedly as he tossed his bag from the chair beside him in a clear invitation to sit down before scribbling something down again.

"Thanks. Do you want me to change it for you?" Lily offered when he made no move to change the error and sat down beside him.

"No, that is how Remus always spells it," Sirius gave her a fleeting smile. "But thanks. Are you done?"

"Any time," she blinked surprised when Sirius threw a crumbled piece of parchment at Potter's head, alerting her to the fact that he'd been staring at her oddly.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Potter blinked before abruptly looking down at his parchment, raking a hand through his hair and Lily had to stifle a laugh.

It still amazed her that Sirius had kept his word as Potter hadn't asked her out even once in the last few days whenever they saw each other.

In turn she had begun to treat him civil as well, making an effort to not immediately turn defensive whenever he did speak to her about class-related things.

And although Sirius had been right and the hair thing remained unchanged, she had paid attention for a change and had noticed that it was indeed a nervous tic the dark-haired boy had and not at all a conscious move to make himself seem more interesting.

"Are you done?" Sirius' repeated question pulled her attention back to the boys on either side of her.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm done," Potter handed his now dry parchment over and Lily watched in silence as Sirius quickly read it over, correcting something here and there.

"He wouldn't use the word pompous, James."

"Doesn't mean the guy isn't," Potter grinned.

"No comment," Sirius chuckled as he glanced over the parchment once more before tapping it with his wand.

"How'd you do that?" Lily blinked surprised as Potter's untidy scrawl became bigger and less curved.

"Just a little spell we invented," Sirius shrugged as he changed his own neat script into Lupin's as well.

"Won't McGonagall notice that you've changed the handwriting?"

"No, she checks for cheating spells and copying ones. She has no reason to believe he didn't write it himself unless someone gives her reason to do so."

"I won't say anything," Lily easily promised. "But why are you writing it for him in the first place?"

"He's been unwell all weekend and hasn't been able to concentrate on his homework at all," Potter explained as he returned his books to his bag.

"He's sick an awful lot, isn't he?" She knew there had been a full moon the day before and like clockwork Lupin had not been seen since classes had been over, cementing it for her once and for all that Lupin was indeed a werewolf.

She still wasn't sure what to make of the revelation, but she'd seen enough movies in her childhood to know that it was rarely something the victims choose and hadn't been able to bring herself to feel even a moment of fear for the quiet boy.

Even if he did change into a bloodthirsty monster once a month, he was still the same guy she'd shared classes with since they started at Hogwarts and through their Prefect duties she had gotten to know him a little better, knowing he was nothing at all like most Wizarding books always portrayed werewolves to be.

"Not as often as me, it is the downside of living with two pigs for most of the year," Sirius shrugged, dismissing her words easily.

Not that she had expected any different from the dark-haired teen, having realised just how protective both were of their friends.

And Lily had to admit that the two usually made brilliant diversions whenever someone noted Lupin's absence a bit more thoughtful than a mere passing mentioning.

"You just both have no immune system whatsoever. Did you know that he hasn't even had the dragon pox yet?"

"Seriously? But you are sixteen!" Lily exclaimed surprised.

"Just lucky, I guess."

"You get the flu twice a year, someone sneezes and you've got a cold. It's not lucky but a miracle," Potter snorted.

"Haven't had a cold yet this year."

Lily was taken aback by the depth of warmth that crossed over Potter's expression, softening his entire face as his and Sirius' eyes met.

"Yeah, let's keep it that way," his voice was equally warm as he deliberately brushed a hand against Sirius' before picking up the other's books as well and putting them into his own bag.

"But was there a specific reason you sought us out? Not that I want you gone, but your friends have been staring at us for almost ten minutes now."

Lily glanced over her shoulder to see Sirius was right and her friends were staring at them in shock, not able to believe she was willingly sitting with the two boys.

"Let them stare," she shot Sirius a wicked grin as the other's eyebrow rose.

"Are you trying to get the gossip wheels turning again?"

"Or maybe I just don't care because you are right and I did seek you out with a reason," she shot back, pleasantly surprised when the other chuckled.

"What can we do for you?" Potter asked.

"I was hoping the two of you might be willing to help me out. You know the Yule ball has been rescheduled to the last day before the holidays start?"

"Because everyone wants their children home after the attack on Diagon Alley and various students have complained about missing the ball because of that," Potter nodded.

"You want to borrow Shadow to send to your parents so they can send you your dress robes?" Sirius suddenly asked and she blinked surprised.

"Yes...how did you know?"

"Because it is what most of the Muggleborn without their own owl used the school owls for, not having expected the ball to be rescheduled. And since so many students used the school owls, there's none left."

"Why wouldn't I have asked my friends if I could borrow one of their owls or have them make a detour?" Lily challenged, interested in hearing how he'd deduced what she was there for.

"Because they already sent their owls off when the news was announced, thinking you'd use your own owl. But they didn't know your Precious Monster hurt a wing and can't make the flight for you."

"How...were you the ones who brought him to Professor Kettleburn?"

"He was on the ground when we went to send a letter to Mum yesterday," Potter said. "Weren't about to leave him when it was clear he was injured."

"Thank you, and you are right, that is indeed why I came to you guys. Would you be willing to borrow me your owl?"

"We were going to send him off to Peter's house once we were done here to pick up his robes as their family owl is getting too old for that sort of packages. If you wouldn't mind that he's taking a few days longer, I don't see an issue with him making a detour."

"I wouldn't mind at all, but isn't he your owl?" Lily turned to Sirius.

"Officially he's my Uncle's, but he's been staying in my care since my Uncle is in the hospital."

"Nothing bad I hope?"

"They don't know yet," Lily wondered why both boys seemed guarded all of a sudden but knew enough about them to know she'd not get an answer from them if she'd ask.

"I hope he'll be well again soon," she finally decided on.

"So do we. Come, let's ask Shadow," Sirius rolled up the parchment and put it into his bag.

"Ask?"

"If he's willing to make the trip. I'm not the one who has to fly extra miles through the cold," Sirius smiled. "But I don't think he'll object. Do you have your letter with you?"

"I...yes?"

"Good, then we can go ask and send him off as we're finished here," he rose to his feet and tapped both his and James' bag with his wand, shrinking them immediately before putting them in his pocket.

"Why do you always do that?" Lily frowned.

"Minimises the chances of our books being damaged outside of classes and it leaves us completely free motion-wise while sparing our backs," Potter explained.

"I hadn't thought of it like that, smart idea," Lily admitted, shrinking her bag after removing her letter and putting it in her pocket.

"We have our moments," Potter grinned, automatically slipping a hand into Sirius' as they left the library, making Lily smile.

It was one thing that she had always admired about the Marauders, they just did what they felt like doing and didn't care at all about what others thought about them or whispered behind their backs.

If anything, the clear display of how comfortable they were with one another made them even more desirable with most girls and even plenty of boys were interested in them as they weren't bad looking either.

As Lily mused over this she suddenly noticed the Black heir was favouring his left leg as he walked with a limp.

"What happened to your leg? Did you hurt it while you were confronting Snape and Black?" Lily silently cheered as she finally managed to call her ex-friend by his surname without slipping.

"I don't think it is much of a confrontation when he cursed them into oblivion," Potter snorted.

"They deserved it," Sirius waved him off. "But I hurt my leg before that."

Lily raised an eyebrow as they approached a couple of Slytherins who all quickly stepped aside to let them pass.

"I don't think they'll bother us any time soon again, not after the display I heard you put forth," Potter snorted.

"I wasn't the only one who thought you were going to kill them," Lily confessed but Sirius snorted.

"I'm not like them."

"Like...what exactly did they do to anger you like that? I heard rumours, but I don't know if those are true."

"I rarely listen to rumours as they are usually rubbish. Snape used a very illegal and dark curse on James and Remus and left them to bleed to death in the cold."

A nasty feeling rose in Lily's stomach at his words, she wasn't naive and knew that several of the Slytherins used dark magic against other students, Snape one of them.

How many times had they been targeted like that, with spells aimed to harm? Probably often enough that Sirius had snapped and retaliated harshly and Lily couldn't truly blame him.

Her friends had immediately judged him when he'd attacked Snape and Black out of the blue, but Lily had seen the anger he was radiating when he stormed into the crowded Great Hall, known that he wasn't acting on a whim.

It had both terrified and amazed her to see him shoot off a string of curses and hexes faster than she'd been able to follow and not even Dumbledore had been able to stop him as the sixteen year old bodily slammed the two beaten Slytherins against the wall, magically pushing the Headmaster aside without batting an eye.

Never before had Lily felt afraid of the other, until that moment right then when cold fear had washed over her at the pure fury radiating off of him, his power strong enough that the Enchanted Ceiling crashed in thunder to match his emotions.

She had watched alongside the others in shock as he had lifted the younger Black up by his throat one-handed, displaying a strength Lily never would have guessed him to possess.

"Share that kind of spells again and I will let you see what they truly do first-hand."

Black gasped for breath as Sirius held him like that for a long moment, staring him in the eye before abruptly letting go of him and Black fell in a tangle of limbs, whimpering pathetically as Sirius turned to Snape.

Snape tensed from his position on the ground as cold grey eyes turned to him.

"You had your warning last time you raised a hand at my family. Touch them, come near any of them again and this will be child's play to what I will do to you then. I will rip you both apart."

His voice, although soft was clear and rang through the shocked Great Hall and Lily knew that he had meant what he said completely as he stared at a trembling Snape, who nodded quickly as he was clearly terrified.

"B-brother..." Black whimpered as he clawed at the ground, blood splattered over his nose and split lip.

"You are no brother of mine," Sirius spat at him before turning to Dumbledore, who'd been staring in shock. "If any of your precious snakes touches my family again, I will make them pay even if you won't. And I can assure you right here and now, I will pay them back tenfold. I won't stand by and watch you hold a hand above their heads regardless of their crimes. They won't get away unpunished any longer."

With that he had stormed off, leaving behind a shocked crowd.

It hadn't taken long for the rumour mill to start gossiping on what could have possibly set Sirius Black off so badly.

But although Lily had already realised something had happened to another Marauder, she wouldn't have expected actual attempted murder. And from the sounds of it, it was exactly that.

"And he wasn't..."

"Punished?" Potter snorted at her. "He's a slimy git and as slick as an eel. He's rarely punished for what he does, attacking from the shadows and behind people's backs so they can't identify their attacker."

"I'm beginning to see that. You are both all right?"

"We're lucky Sirius knew both the curse and the counter-curse and found us in time," Potter smiled at Sirius but Lily blinked confused.

"If Snape was the one who attacked you guys, then what did Black do?"

"He taught the git that spell. It is a curse that the Black family invented and only they know how to use it."

"Meaning that Black taught it to Snape or he wouldn't have been able to use it. What does the curse do?" she asked curiously as they reached the Owlery.

"It slashes the skin and can't be healed by anything but the counter-curse," Potter said as Sirius was immediately greeted by multiple owls upon entering.

"That's horrible!" Lily stepped aside as a large dark shadow soared over her.

"Hey Shadow. I have a letter for you to deliver if you're up to it," Sirius spoke to the owl as the sharp claws carefully settled on his shoulder and a large black owl nipped at the boy's ear affectionately.

"It is a request to send robes so you'll get a package in return. Make them put it into this pouch so it'll be weightless for you," he ordered and bound the pouch to Shadow's claw as it was held out to him. "And Lily here would like to ask if you're willing to deliver a letter and pick up her robes as well."

Lily swallowed as yellow eyes turned her way at his words and not for the first time did she wonder just how much the owl understood Sirius' words.

The owl hooted once, nipping Sirius' finger in response.

"Where's your letter? He's willing to deliver it for you," Potter said.

"Thank you," she wasn't sure if she was saying it to the owl or the dark-haired boy, but handed over her letter to him and watched as it was bound onto the outstretched claw before the owl took flight.

She shifted a little uncomfortable as the two boys watched the owl disappear through the window, not sure if she should just leave them now that their task was done or stay with them, but Potter took the decision out of her hands as he turned to her.

"We should make our way to the Great Hall as it's almost dinnertime."

"Sounds like a plan," she nodded but frowned as Sirius indicated she should descend from the spiral staircase first.

"It's not proper to walk up any stairs behind a girl, but it's also not proper to walk down the stairs before them," Potter explained.

"I never really thought about it because we're all wearing robes," Lily said as she took the lead.

"Don't know about the others, but we always wear trousers underneath our robes," Potter shrugged, making Lily chuckle as she knew they were likely among the only ones wearing trousers underneath their robes.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while until something occurred to Lily. "You send Shadow to Peter's house, but don't you guys need your robes, too?"

"We already got them. It's what we send Heriot out for yesterday, both to get our robes and get some for Remus," James explained.

"Heriot?" Lily chuckled. "Wizzy, Heriot, you aren't really very imaginative with names, are you?"

"Heriot is the last name of a character from a Muggle show that Remus and his mum always watch. We watched several episodes last summer while we were staying with him."

"His Mum still has several episodes taped from earlier seasons and let us watch them in the evening," Sirius grinned. "They both loved this character named Zoe Heriot so when Dad got a new owl we decided to name him after that character."

"That's rather nice," Lily smiled at the enthusiasm of the two and surprised at the correct use of Muggle words, though she wasn't sure why.

Both followed Muggle Studies, though Potter hadn't started that until this year after he'd dropped Divination like she had. And even if they hadn't, they both had a clear fascination with the Muggle world.

"We thought so too. Have you got a date yet?" Potter asked as he slipped a hand into Sirius' again once they were on solid ground again.

"Why?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Just curious, don't worry I won't ask you," Potter held up his free hand in defence.

"Speaking of that, I'd like to switch partners with you," Sirius spoke up.

"If Pandora doesn't mind then it's fine by me. I think he'll like going with you more anyway," Potter nodded in agreement, either already knowing why Sirius wanted to switch or not caring.

"He?" Lily asked confused.

"Oh, Remus," Sirius waved her off. "And Pan's fine with it, already spoke to her. I'll ask him after dinner if he's interested."

"You're going to the ball with Lupin?" Lily shot him an incredulous look.

She had heard and seen girls swoon at the mere sight of them and more often than she wanted to admit had she been forced to listen to conversations that discussed just how gorgeous, amazing and brilliant the two boys beside her were.

Both boys were incredibly popular and could get any girl they wanted, more than a few boys, too, if Lily thought about it.

Not only could they get whoever they wanted, Sirius also had a certain rumoured reputation that made it difficult to believe he'd willingly go with a mere friend if there was a chance he'd get lucky.

Although she had to admit that since she'd gotten to know him a little better, it had gotten harder to believe those rumours as the boy she'd gotten to know didn't seem the type to sleep around as he was incredibly loyal.

"If he'll say yes," Sirius luckily wasn't able to read her thoughts. "Have to ask him first."

"And you're going with Pandora?" Lily turned to Potter.

"Seems like it. Her boyfriend graduated last year and she didn't feel like going with someone who might get the wrong idea so Sirius asked her while I was going to ask Remus."

Lily nodded at the explanation as they entered the Great Hall and her friends waved at her to join them.

Waving back to them Lily turned to the two as they stopped at their customary spot.

"Thank you for your help."

"Any time. We'll warn you when Shadow returns," Potter promised.

"Thanks," Lily paused as she gauged Potter for a moment as Sirius waved to Lupin and Pettigrew as the two entered the Great Hall.

"You know Potter, I reckon Sirius was right about you and you're not as bad as I thought you were," Lily decided as she moved to her friends, leaving Potter to stare at her flabbergasted while Sirius choked on a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey."

Remus looked up to see Sirius pull himself up onto the windowsill next to where he was standing and smiled at his dark-haired friend.

"Hey, detention over already?"

"Professor Flitwick let me go early and I thought I'd come pick you up before curfew."

"It's that late already?" Remus returned the book he'd been looking at to the shelf and picked up another.

"It's only eight, but I know you," Sirius teased as he crossed his legs. "Why are you looking for new books? You know Madam Pince enchanted the books so they cannot leave the castle grounds."

"It's not for the holiday. I'm looking for something to read during the Yule ball next week."

"Why are you not going?"

"I don't feel like going alone."

"I don't believe for even a second that you can't get a date. You're smart, kind and a funny guy to hang out with," Sirius snorted.

"I haven't tried to get a date," Remus sighed as he knew his friend wouldn't let him drop the subject. "I don't..."

"You don't want to go with someone you hardly know and couldn't care less to spend an entire awkward evening with," Sirius said knowingly.

"Well...yes," Remus admitted.

"Then go with someone you are comfortable with."

"Sirius, the only people I am comfortable with are the three of you."

"Then go with one of us," Sirius' easy answer made Remus snort.

"You're all guys."

"So? Who cares?"

"Easy for you to say, you're going with a sweet and kind girl," Remus snorted, squashing down the slight jealousy that brewed deep in his stomach as he returned the book to the shelf and tried not to think of his friends all having fun without him.

"No, I'm not. James is taking Pandora."

"What? Why?" surprised Remus snapped his attention back to Sirius.

"Because our best friend is an awkward idiot and wouldn't enjoy the spotlight."

"Huh?"

"James was going to ask you to go with him, but I realised that you wouldn't be comfortable going with him as he's Quidditch Captain and all eyes will be on him."

"True...James was going to ask me?" confused Remus blinked.

"Yes, but figuring you'd be more comfortable with me, we switched. He's taking Pandora and I'm asking you."

"And is Pandora aware of that?"

"Of course she is. She understood and told me to tell you that you owe her a dance," Sirius grinned.

"Siri, you do realise I'm a guy, right?"

"I think I've seen you naked enough times to be aware of that, yes," Remus flushed at Sirius' words as he remembered the countless times the other had treated his wounds after full moons and had to help him shower. "So, are we going?"

"You could get any girl you want to go with you, why me?" Remus silently berated himself as he knew that for the smoothness with which his best friend could interact with girls, Sirius had even more difficulties with letting people in than Remus himself had, and with good reason.

He wouldn't go with someone he didn't trust completely and that list was about as short as Remus' list was.

"Because I want to go with someone I care about, someone I trust. And beside James there is no one I trust more than you," Sirius confirmed his words.

"What about Peter?"

"He ranks fifth on my list, right behind Mum and Dad," Sirius shrugged and Remus couldn't stop the swelling in his heart as being basically told he ranked higher on the boy's trust list than even his adopted parents, knowing how difficult it was to gain it.

"No, I meant why not go with him? He hasn't got a date either," Remus didn't comment on Sirius' words beyond a smile.

"I want to go with you. And he's got a date with a fifth year Hufflepuff."

"He asked her?" Remus asked incredulous.

Peter was usually even more socially awkward than Remus was and he didn't believe for even a second that the timid boy had gathered the courage to ask a girl out.

"She asked him," Sirius' sheepish smile confirmed his suspicion. "I asked her if she would be willing to ask Peter to the ball while I helped her study for Transfiguration."

"And she agreed?"

"It's Marie McClair."

"Ah," Remus bit his lip at the name as it explained everything.

He felt horrible at even thinking it of his friend, but he knew Peter wasn't exactly a social butterfly or someone who'd catch the eye of a girl easily. Not while being fairly overweight and timid, something he knew Sirius and James were more than aware of.

Marie McClair was a kind girl, but dealt with the same problems Peter did on top of always nervously laughing when in contact with the other gender. It had taken ages before the girl had worked up the nerve to look at Sirius during private tutoring lessons.

"She's a good girl and Peter won't be nervous with her," Sirius leaned towards him. "So, what do you say?"

"You're truly serious about wanting to take me, aren't you?"

"Would I ask if I weren't?"

"People will talk," Remus warned him even as his stomach flip-flopped at the idea of going with Sirius, knowing they'd have a great time without any awkwardness.

"And why do we care about that?"

"Because they will think we are there together."

"We will be there together," Sirius cheerfully reminded him, making Remus laugh.

"No, together, together. As a couple," Remus stuttered.

"And people say you are the eloquent one?" Sirius teased. "I solemnly promise I will not kiss you unexpectedly."

"But you will expectedly?" An image of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland flashed through Remus' mind at the grin that split over Sirius' lips.

"Depends on if you're a good date or if there's mistletoe," Sirius winked.

"Oh goodie, I'd better make sure there is some then," he shot back, relishing in the laugh his pathetic attempt at flirting caused.

"You're horrible," Sirius grinned, "So, pick you up at five?"

"We share a dorm, Siri," Remus reminded him.

"Are you going to be so cynical our entire date?"

"Just pointing out the facts, Pads," Remus frowned as he realised something. "I don't have any dress robes."

"You do, consider it an early Christmas present from James and me."

"The two of you share a strange obsession with getting me into clothes."

"Did you rather have we tried to get you out of them?" Sirius shot back without missing a beat, making Remus choke on nothing.

"What on earth has gotten into you today?" he eventually managed to bring out as his laughter subdued.

"Sorry, James found a book on how to woo a girl and he wanted to try it out."

"So he's been practising pick-up lines on you?" Remus chuckled at the pained expression that slid across Sirius' face as he turned from him to look at the row of books. "That bad?"

"Worse. I already took the book from him and burned that load of disrespectful crap. But it seems it did rub off on me, sorry."

"It's all right. I rather have you flirt with me than accidentally giving someone else the wrong idea," Remus laughed as Sirius pulled him backwards to wrap his arms around his neck and nuzzled his shoulder blades.

"Why are you so freakishly tall?"

"You're not exactly small either, Siri," Remus bend slightly so that Sirius could comfortably hug him without having to stretch his arms out too much.

"You could also just sit down, you know?"

"Are you tired?" Remus asked as he did just that, half turning so that he could slip his arm around Sirius.

"A little. How did you know?"

"Because your eyes are closed. Is your leg still bothering you?"

"A little, it's throbbing again," Sirius admitted as he leaned against him.

"Want me to look at it when we get back to our dorm?"

"James already massaged it early this afternoon."

"A second massage can't do much harm, you should be more careful, though."

"Tell that to Peter, he didn't tell us he'd let that chocolate frog escape until after I'd tripped over the stupid thing," Sirius grumbled.

"I have to admit, it's not like Peter to let any type of food go to waste. Especially not candy," Remus mused even as Sirius hummed.

"Are you still coming over for Christmas?" Sirius suddenly asked, shifting slightly to look up to him.

"Yeah, my parents will drop me off on Christmas Eve and I'll stay until New Year."

"You know Mum and Dad won't mind if you stayed longer, right?"

"I know. But you know what is a few days later and Dad wants me home for that."

"Hmmm," Sirius' expression turned thoughtful for a moment. "I'll think about that later, you still haven't given me an answer."

"To what?"

"If you'll go to the ball with me, silly," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know how to dance."

"Be sure to say sorry to Pan's toes then when you dance with her."

"Not to you?"

"Heck no, I'll just be sure to teach you how to dance beforehand. We still have a full week before the ball to ensure you'll not squash any toes."

"Are you calling me fat?" Remus poked Sirius in his side, making the other chuckle.

"No, just freakishly tall," Sirius slid from the windowsill, holding out his hand to help him down, too, and Remus accepted it despite easily reaching the ground by himself.

"Will we be in matching clothes, love?" Remus choked on a laugh as Sirius actually paused.

"I don't know actually. I picked out your, Pete's and James' robes, but James picked mine and has been hiding them from me. Yours are black by the way; I knew you'd be uncomfortable in colour."

"You know me too well," Remus smiled as he slipped a hand in Sirius' as they made their way out of the library.

"I should, you're one of my closest friends," Sirius snorted. "But I'm still waiting for your answer."

Remus laughed. "It would be an honour to go to the ball with you."

"Then it's a date," Sirius decided with a smile. "And don't worry. James and I will teach you how to dance before the ball."

"I will hold you on that," Remus threatened, making Sirius laugh.

"Don't worry, Moony. I promise that when we're done with you, you'll be a true master in dancing."

"I doubt that, but do your best," Remus was sure the two would do their best.

And he was not mistaken as James and Sirius did their very best to teach both him and Peter how to dance, taking every opportunity to pull either of them in a dance and spending many an evening teaching.

On the day of the Yule ball, Remus actually felt somewhat sure of himself as he pulled on his black dress robes, staring at himself in the mirror in disbelief.

"Want me to get Sirius to make a photo for your parents?" James' soft voice made him turn around.

"What did you do to these robes?"

"Bought them in a fitting size?"

"No...I mean, they are as soft as the sweaters Sirius has been making for me."

"Oh, that's just the fabric. Dress robes are supposed to be soft. You look good, very dashing if I may say so. Sirius made a good choice," James complimented him.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself," Remus nodded approvingly at the dark red robes that fit James like a second skin.

"Yeah, wait until you see Sirius."

"He doesn't count. I suspect he'd look good even in a trash bag," Peter grumbled, a little envy in his voice that made James laugh as he adjusted Peter's black robes.

"Yeah, I'm jealous, too. He looks good in just about everything, but he looks gorgeous tonight," James sighed. "I spend two hours with him to get my hair like this and he's just..."

"Rolls out of bed with perfect hair," Remus offered with a grin as it was something that always annoyed him, too. Especially as the other didn't care at all about appearances.

"Yes! It's totally unfair!"

"What's unfair?"

Remus turned to see Sirius in the door opening and smiled.

James hadn't exaggerated when he'd said Sirius looked gorgeous, because he did.

The dark blue robes with light green edges were well fitting, very different from the slightly baggy clothes he preferred to wear and the shape showed off his slender body very well.

"You look quite dashing," he complimented.

"Right back at you. And seriously, James!" Sirius stepped around Remus to push James onto the bed. "Two hours I've been fighting that hair of yours at your own request, despite my objection that it looks better the way it normally is, and you run a hand through it?"

"Ah..." Remus tried in vain to stifle a laugh as James' expression turned mournful while Sirius ran his hands through James' hair.

"Don't laugh, it's a disaster!" James pouted. "You have to bind my hand or slap me if I touch my hair again."

"You'd be sore before we reached the Great Hall," Peter teased as Sirius finished bringing the hair back into shape before pausing with a calculating look in his eyes and giving a sweep of his wand.

"Brilliant!" James suddenly grinned and Remus stepped forward interested.

"You modified the Petrificus Totalus?"

"Though it might work," Sirius ran a hand through James' hair again, smiling as it immediately fell back into place. "It's still mostly soft, too."

"Thank you!" James wrapped his arms around Sirius and pressed a kiss on his cheek with a loud smack.

"Oi, don't make moves on my date," Remus tried to fake a look of jealousy, but knew he'd failed when all three of them laughed.

"No worries, Moony. I'm already quite taken with another. Think she'll dance with me if I asked?"

"Don't push it."

Remus frowned at the clear warning in Sirius' voice, but even as he opened his mouth to ask what he meant, James already nodded.

"You have to save me a couple of dances, though. Same counts for the two of you."

"I'm not that good," Remus protested.

"Good enough to not step on our toes too often," James grinned as Sirius straightened his robes before turning to Peter to do the same as he'd already wrinkled them again.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Don't look at your feet and just remember to have fun," he said as he brushed Remus' robes down, straightening them a little.

"I know. You'll be with me, right?"

"For as long as it takes for you to become comfortable. If you don't want to dance with someone, it's not forbidden to say no."

"I'll remember that," Remus took a deep breath as James gave Sirius a last check over, too.

"We should get going or we'll keep Pandora and Marie waiting," Peter shifted nervously.

"Then lead the way," Remus' grinned as James and Sirius nudged Peter to take the lead, making the nervous boy squeak before they descended from the stairs, only to stop in the Common Room for Sirius to make several photos of them before they could actually be on their way.


	3. Chapter 3

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lily looked around as she leaned back against one of the tables with her drink, still amazed by how much the Great Hall had changed.

Gone were the house tables, replaced by several round tables that could house up to ten people for dinner and Lily had managed to have a surprising amount of fun despite her boring date.

Everyone else seemed to be having the time of their lives as they chatted or danced and she smiled as her eyes travelled over her friends before they landed on Potter and his friends, like they'd done repeatedly that evening.

It should probably worry her, how much of her attention was going towards the troublesome four, but she couldn't help herself.

She had to bite her lip when the boys had walked in and it became clear just who they were there with.

It had been the question she'd heard the most in the days leading to the ball but no one had known the answer.

After several girls had asked Sirius out, only to be declined with the claim of already having a date, they'd had tried to find out who he was taking.

Lily herself had even been cornered by the group of fan girls who insisted to know if she was the girl who'd be going with him since they suddenly got along and although she had given them a negative answer, she'd wondered herself, too.

She had been sure Sirius had merely been joking when he'd said he would ask Lupin, but now she realised he had been completely serious as that was who he'd walked in with.

It had been hilarious to see the group's disbelieving expressions as Sirius cheerfully chatted to a nervous looking Lupin and Lily was fairly sure she'd drawn blood while biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing.

Not that she could blame the girls for being jealous as Sirius looked absolutely amazing and even Lupin looked very nice, but it had been Potter, walking next to a stunningly beautiful Pandora dressed in dark blue robes, who had caught her attention as he leaned in to speak to Sirius.

Her bespectacled classmate looked quite dashing in his wine red robes and his hair was combed back in a neat fashion and no doubt magically held that way.

She had surprised herself by the stray thought that she preferred his usually messy hair to this.

He'd been laughing with his friends all through dinner and Lily found herself watching him now as he danced with Sirius, both clearly knowing what they were doing as they danced a waltz without caring that they were both male.

Their behaviour had other boys and girls work up the nerve to dance together as well, while Lily knew that normally they wouldn't have even thought about mixing and just having fun with friends like the Marauders automatically did.

"Makes you kind of envious, doesn't it?"

She looked up to see Lupin had joined her, a drink in his hands.

"Envious of?" she asked suspiciously.

"How effortless they make it look, while truly it's not that easy," Lupin sounded wishful.

"You seemed to be doing fine earlier," Lily commented.

"Only because they have been teaching me how to dance all week," Lupin admitted, laughing.

"Maybe I should ask for lessons sometime too, then," Lily wasn't sure if she was joking or actually being serious as she turned her attention back to the two laughing figures moving around.

"They're good teachers," Lupin nodded in agreement. "How come you're not dancing?"

"I ditched my date and no one has dared to ask me to dance yet, least they gain Potter's wrath."

"Would you like to dance, then?"

"I can't dance very well," Lily warned as she turned back to him.

"Then we'll both pretend to know what we're doing."

Allowing Lupin to set both their drinks onto a nearby table and lead her onto the dance floor, they both blinked as a quick two step picked up.

"Eh..."

"Let's just move, all eyes are in the other direction anyway," Lupin's nod made Lily realise he was quite right.

"Why aren't you afraid of gaining Potter's wrath?"

"Contrary to popular belief, there is only one person under James' severe protection and that's not you."

"Could have fooled me," Lily snorted as her eyes slid back to Potter and Sirius as the two had split up for the new dance, Potter now dancing with Pettigrew while Sirius was dancing with Pandora.

"I'm quite serious, it is not James' protection you have."

Surprised Lily looked up to him, his tone suggesting she did have someone's protection. "Sirius? Why would he..."

"I assume it is because James likes you."

"Then why would I be under Sirius' protection if Potter's the one who likes me?" But even as she asked, it suddenly made a whole lot more sense to her why Slytherins had stopped calling her names and sneering at the sight of her.

If Sirius had indeed decided to put her under his protection and had made it known, not many would dare to target her in any way any more, at least not at Hogwarts where they knew the Marauder would no doubt find out and retaliate.

"They're brothers, it's what they do and have been doing since the moment they met."

"Being brothers doesn't really explain it," Lily said.

"Sirius took a liking to Pandora and began to look out for her so James gave her his protection whenever she needed it. It's not exactly the same since Sirius has never been romantically interested in her, but it's the same principle," Remus shrugged before he suddenly smiled.

"They did the same with me. It was Sirius who decided I'd be his friend at the welcoming feast and James told me he'd have my back because Sirius had taken a liking to me."

"He actually told you that?"

"Yes. And Sirius did the same for Peter. It was James who drew him in and Sirius who protected him from his relatives on our fifth day here because James befriended him."

"They do have a remarkably close bond," if Lupin had been talking about anyone else she'd have snorted at him for the sheer ridiculousness of his words.

But for Potter and Sirius, it was indeed what they did and she'd seen it happen.

They looked out for each other and extended that courtesy automatically to anyone that the other took an interest in.

"You have no idea. But I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be moving to dance."

"Oh, right," it took her a moment to get into the rhythm but then they were dancing and as they moved she began to have a little faith in their dancing and allowed him to make her spin.

But the moment she did, she stomped onto his foot with her heels, making him gasp in pain and she immediately stepped away from him.

"I am so sorry!" she wasn't surprised to see Sirius materialise at their side seconds after she stepped back.

"Moony?"

"I'm okay. Those heels are just sharper than I thought," Lupin reassured him.

"Sit down and let me see."

"Siri..." sighing, Lupin allowed his friend to guide him to a chair.

"I'm truly sorry," Lily winced as Sirius carefully removed Lupin's shoe and sock and he revealed a very red pair of weirdly looking toes.

"Let's see," she watched surprised as Sirius cast a diagnostic charm without hesitation before casting a healing spell with an impressed whistle and the toes returned to normal.

"You broke three of his toes, how did you manage that?"

"Broke?!"

"All healed, though," Sirius conjured a pack of ice and placed it on the foot. "Fifteen minutes of cooling and then I want you on your feet again."

"Yes, Siri," Lupin nodded obediently, making Lily stifle a smile as it was clear the younger Marauder was fairly experienced in dealing with the other's injuries.

"Atta boy, although I suggest you pick a different dancing partner. You should forgo your hexes and just throw these heels at people," Sirius teased and Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"It's not funny."

"It kind of is, it's not easy to break his bones so you managed quite a feat," Sirius grinned as he shifted the ice pack a little and gave her a calculated look. "You know, you're not as light as you look."

Lily stared at him, not sure if she'd just been insulted or given a compliment but was saved from answering as Lupin took pity on her.

"So you're saying I should stay away from Pete?"

"Preferably."

"Shouldn't he rest?" Lily interrupted.

"No, needs to keep moving or the toes will get stiff. It's the downside of healing spells; it just heals but doesn't do anything for the bruised area. If he doesn't move them properly after the resting period he risks the chance of them becoming stiff and painful and although there are potions to help with that, it's not good to be completely reliant on those when it's not truly needed."

"Guess you get another dance then," Lupin smiled at Sirius, who rose an eyebrow.

"I should hope so, although I want you to stay on your feet for two dances before I let you off them again."

"Haven't I danced enough yet lately?"

"Hardly," Potter's voice made Lily jump. "How's he doing, Siri?"

"I'm fine," Lupin rolled his eyes. "You should go back to dancing."

"Switching of partners. Pan and her friends are going to bed soon and she would like for you to be her last dance of the evening," he directed the last part at Sirius.

"It would be my honour," without another word Potter and he switched places and Sirius left.

"You should return to dancing, too," Lily looked up to see Lupin was talking to her but shook her head.

"I think I've done enough dancing for one night. I'm not much of a dancer anyway."

"That's a shame," Potter spoke up as he automatically adjusted the ice pack when Lupin shifted. "It is a really nice way to relax."

Lily looked at him curiously as he turned his attention to the dance floor. She had expected him to ask her to dance, but then, she had also thought he'd try to ask her to the ball at least once.

But he hadn't and while it relieved her that he had stopped harassing her, she kind of missed his constant horrible flirting.

Almost immediately she shook her head, not believing that she was regretting that Sirius had gotten Potter to back off.

Firmly pushing those kind of thoughts out of her head, she shifted uncomfortably as she wasn't sure if she was still welcome or should leave.

Lupin had been hurt because of her, but the other two clearly had things completely under control.

She glanced at the dance floor when Potter snorted; surprised to see Sirius was now attempting to dance with Pettigrew.

The smaller of the two wasn't fairing very well and it looked rather ridiculous but she could hear his laughter as Sirius spun them both around.

"You'd have thought our lessons would have paid off more," she heard Potter mutter.

"You taught them both how to dance?"

"Attempted to. I gave up on Peter after he stomped on my toes for the billionth time but Sirius is still trying even now."

"Between his stubbornness and Pete's enthusiasm they might succeed some time," Lupin nodded.

"Well, it won't be for lack of trying and his stubbornness worked well on you," Potter grinned, rising to his feet as the song ended and tossed the ice pack onto the table. "And that's about fifteen minutes."

"Right, I better go save Siri's toes before he's too sore to dance with me," Lupin grinned as he put his sock and shoe on again before rising.

"Have fun and remember that you're supposed to lead as you're taller than him."

"I'm sure Siri will remind me. Evans, it was a pleasure," he nodded at her before making his way onto the dance floor where he tapped Pettigrew's shoulder to exchange places.

Now truly uncomfortable she shifted as Pettigrew came their way, openly surprised to see the two of them seated together without arguing.

"Uh...hi."

"Hello."

"Sirius asked to tell you that he'll call it a night after this, too, are we joining them?"

"I will, but you should stay with your date. Where is she anyway?"

"Dancing with her cousin. Are you sure?" Pettigrew looked nervous.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired and I'm sure Sirius will put Rem straight to bed after a hot shower. No need to cut your date short when we're going straight to bed. Unless you're not having fun?"

"I am, I have...I...I'll see you tomorrow?" Pettigrew smiled before his eyes slid over to her nervously again and Potter shooed him off to his date with a laugh.

"What about you? Where did your date run off to?"

"No idea, but I think I'll call it a night as well."

"If you're willing to wait ten more minutes, then we could accompany you. No need for a lady to walk alone."

Considering it for a moment, Lily nodded. "Sure, that might be best."

Seeing him turn back to the dance floor, she followed his gaze.

"Are they dating?" she blurted out as she watched Lupin and Sirius spin around, completely comfortable dancing together while Lupin had been tense with her.

"I wish," Potter laughed. "At least then I'd know they'll both end up with someone who's good for them."

"You're rather protective of them, aren't you?"

"They are my family and Sirius is my little brother," he grinned as Lupin spun Sirius around and almost tripped over his own feet when the spin made him misstep. "His foot seems fine, how did you bruise it?"

"Sirius said I broke three toes," Lily admitted.

"Broke? Bloody hell Evans, how did you manage that? You're like half his size!"

"I'm not that small and Sirius said I'm heavier than I look."

"You must be if you broke his toes. Not even Peter managed that when we made them practice dancing together and he's a lot heavier than you are," he whistled impressed.

"I'll have you know that I hit his toes with my heels when he made me spin," she laughed, strangely not offended as he basically called her fat, too.

"Remind me to stop pissing you off when you're wearing bone crushing heels then."

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be? Did you do it on purpose?"

"No, but I did hurt him."

"Accidentally. And I'm not the one who decides if we're angry with you for hurting him and since his watchdog isn't, neither am I."

"So you protect Sirius and he protects Lupin?"

"No, we protect each other. I just watch out a little more for Sirius while he looks after the two of us."

"And Pettigrew?"

"We all watch over him as he's the one with the least amount of problems," Potter shrugged, his eyes never leaving the dance floor now.

"Are you expecting trouble?"

"No, most of the troublesome Slytherins have already left and Sirius can more than handle himself," his eyes narrowed as Lupin and Sirius came back towards them while the song was still playing.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I just don't want him to overdo it as his toes are still sore," Sirius reassured him.

"I'm truly sorry."

"Don't sweat it," Lupin smiled as he placed a hand on Potter's shoulder. "Willing to give me a hand?"

"No, but you can borrow my shoulder," Potter shifted so that Lupin could lean on him.

"Now I feel kind of left out, what do you say, Lily? May I have the pleasure of escorting you back to your tower?"

"My tower?"

"All the princesses have a tower, don't they?" Sirius turned to Lupin. "It's either that or an evil stepmother, right?"

"Sort of," Lupin laughed and Sirius turned to her with a grin.

"There you have it, so what do you say?"

"I suppose you may have the honour," Lily laughed as he bowed to her and held out an arm as a real gentleman.

Resting her hand on his biceps, she allowed him to lead her away from the Great Hall, following Potter and Lupin as the two calmly made their way through the hallway.

"Did you have fun tonight? You've hardly danced."

"Have you been watching me?" Lily teased.

"It was fairly hard not to, you kind of stand out," he teased her back without missing a beat.

"Better than orange," she shot back, grinning as he laughed at the reference to her horrible coloured bathrobe.

"Definitely, good colour combination this time. Green does suit you well," he complimented her.

"Be careful, Evans. Sirius can be a terror when it comes to colours," Potter held in his step so that they all walked together.

"I've noticed. He insisted on seeing my dress to make sure I'd not clash with my hair as he claimed my friends wouldn't dare to be honest, lest they would offend me."

"He made me try on six different pair of robes before I was approved," Potter tried to put on a tragic expression, but ruined it with his grin.

"Only because you have horrible tastes," Sirius complained.

Lupin stumbled as he turned to say something and Sirius reached out to catch him.

"Watch it," he warned and Lily caught sight of Sirius' eyes as Lupin reached out to steady himself on the other's shoulder and realised the edges of Lupin's robes were the exact same shade as Sirius' eyes.

"Why are they matching?" she couldn't stop herself from blurting out.

"Just to mark territory," Potter answered her, looking pleasantly surprised that she had noticed it and Lupin frowned at her confused before following her gaze and his eyes lit up in realisation.

"James!"

"You like the robes, don't you?"

"I...no wonder all those girls kept giving me death glares!"

"You know, on occasions like these I truly feel stupid for having to ask, but what are you talking about?"

"James made our robes matching," Lupin grumbled.

"I know. It's what you asked."

"What? When did I...I was joking when I asked if we'd be matching!" Lupin spluttered as Sirius gave him a confused look.

"You were?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, I thought it was a nice prank," Lily laughed as Sirius shrugged and Lupin turned to her surprised.

"Sorry, it's just...you do realise most will think you're dating now, right?"

"That'll keep people at a distance," Potter looked entirely too pleased with himself for it to have been an innocent prank and from Lupin's narrowed eyes she knew he was aware of it too.

"There are a whole lot worse things to be accused off," she was surprised to see Lupin relax at Sirius' words.

"I guess I can live with that," Lupin smiled as Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to Lily.

"Would you mind if James took my place? I'd feel better if I could keep a closer eye on him if he's stumbling."

"Of course not, do your protective duty," she smiled as Potter offered her his arm much like Sirius had done and accepted his offer while Sirius slipped underneath Lupin's arm.

They made it back to Gryffindor Tower without incident and quietly made their way inside, not sure if students were already back or not.

"Well, it was a pleasure," Potter smiled at her as he stepped away from her with a small bow while Sirius deposited Lupin in his usual seat before dashing up to their dorm.

"Likewise," she had to admit, stepping to the side as Sirius returned with a potion in hand.

"Is that a pain relieving potion? You brew them yourself?"

"Among a few other things. There's some pranks that occasionally go wrong so we learned early on how to take care of ourselves," Potter admitted as Sirius gave Lupin the potion before effortlessly removing his shoe and sock again to examine the foot.

"It's looking better but if it's still painful?"

"It'll be fine in the morning, if not you could always give me a bruise removal potion. You were right in that it's better to let it heal naturally. And we're going on holiday tomorrow so it's not like I have to be on my feet all day in the train," Lupin declined the unspoken offer.

"Have you packed already?" Potter asked her as Sirius carefully massaged the foot a little and Lupin leaned back in his seat.

"Yes, only need to add the last few things. I'm just glad the train doesn't leave before noon. It'll mean we arrive rather late, but it's better than having half the students oversleep."

"They can be smart when they want to be," Sirius offered. "You're going home for the holidays, aren't you?"

"Yes. My parents want to take my sister and me to a play on Christmas Eve."

"Which one?" Lupin asked interested.

"The Phantom of the Opera. It's an opera that Mum heard about, apparently it began playing this summer," Lily explained.

"Isn't that the one your mum and our Dad are taking us to this break?" Sirius looked up at Lupin.

"It is."

"Your parents want to take you guys to an opera?" Lily asked surprised. "You'd like something like that?"

"Don't know, Auntie Hope took us to see Bugsy Malone in the summer holidays and we liked it well enough. She thought we might like this, too, so Dad arranged for us all to go to this opera together during the Christmas Holidays," Potter explained.

"But they planned to go after New Year so we won't see you at Lancaster," Lupin revealed. "I assume you'll go there as that is where it's playing?"

"Yes. I look forward to learning what you all thought of it."

"We'll have to get together after the holidays and share impressions," Potter grin however quickly slid off his lips as his expression turned alarmed. "I mean...you don't..."

"That would be nice," Lily interrupted him, coming to the decision that she'd like to get to spend some innocent time with them so she could get to know these boys more properly as she had enjoyed herself during the time they'd spend together, regardless of the circumstances that had drawn them together.

She'd been surprised a few weeks ago to learn Sirius was a lot more mature than she had thought, but she was learning that the same counted for the bespectacled boy standing before her and she'd been pleasantly surprised to come to the conclusion that he was not at all an immature prankster like she'd always thought.

"Don't want to break this up, but I'm going to wish you a good night," Sirius rose to his feet, pulling Lupin up with him.

"Looks like I will be as well," but the thought didn't seem to bother Lupin as he yawned rather widely.

"Looks like you already should have been in bed," Potter had to stifle a yawn of his own and blinked surprised as both Lupin and Sirius laughed at him.

"Well, I suppose this is the end of our date, then. Thank you for a lovely evening," Lily just caught Sirius' mischievous expression before he rose to his toes and planted a light kiss on the corner of Lupin's mouth.

Snorting loudly at the flabbergasted expression on the brown-haired boy, Lily couldn't help but laugh as he stared at Sirius.

"Wh...why..."

"I did say you would get a kiss if you were a good date," Sirius teased, patting Potter's back as the other was literally crying in laughter, tears running down his cheeks.

"I thought you said there would have to be mistletoe," Lupin blinked, still a little stunned.

"I could conjure some," Lily offered innocently, failing to keep in a laugh of her own at Potter's infectious mirth.

"Don't you dare," Lupin threw a pillow at her and she ducked to avoid it.

"It's not nice to throw things at princesses," she shot at him, finding herself laughing even harder as a mix between horrified and a blush crossed his face as he realised what he'd just done.

"You're not his princess," Potter gleefully informed her.

"Ah, then I guess it's all right if he throws pillows at me," she mused, enjoying the moment more than she thought she would have.

"I think you might have had a little too much to drink," Lupin raised an eyebrow as she laughed again.

"Steered very clear of the punch and I know for a fact that none of you drank it either."

"Been watching us, have you?" Potter grinned.

"Someone has to make sure we behave," Sirius came to her rescue as Lily fought the blush that threatened to take over her face at the slip-up.

"Are you suddenly taking her side?" Potter wrapped his arms around Sirius from behind and rested his chin on the other's shoulder as he pouted.

"Can't let you have all the fun," Sirius reached up to pat the hands that rested on his chest as Potter yawned again. "But I think it's time for bed, don't you?"

"Yes, Siri," Potter nodded obediently before bowing lightly to Lily. "My lovely lady, it was a pleasure and may I say you look absolutely stunning tonight as I bid you a good night?"

"Thank you and the pleasure was mine," Lily curtseyed for him, accepting the compliment as it was clear he meant it and wasn't just saying it to make himself look good. "Have a good night too, my lord."

"I hope not for a long time to come," Potter's words confused her, but she didn't ask further as he turned from her with another bow and grabbed Sirius' hand, turning him into a spin and dancing a few steps with him before they both gave Lupin a hand up the steps to their dorm, wishing her a good night before they disappeared.

Shaking her head at their antics, Lily turned to make her way to her own dorm.

She truly had enjoyed their company that evening and decided that if Potter would send her a Christmas card again this year, she might just return one of her own for a change.


End file.
